Featured CAMEOS: Show & Tell or Ask & Answer

@Bronwen
Bravo! That’s a very profound study and well digging! Now that you brought it up, I’m the one who acquired this Ariadne, which I knew the dealer marked it wrong and suspected it was by Filippo Verge. Also I was fond of the theme and the dealer offered a pretty good deal so… Anyway, here’s the photo of it. It accompanied me through my wedding, so it’s kind of special to me. This Ariadne was previously private collection of a professor in English and poet specializing in Greek mythology. She probably acquired this cameo as souvenir during her field trip to Sicily.


I’ve studied the above cameos mentioned by @Bronwen before made the purchase. One thing that intrigues me is that, the Sotheby’s Antinous was executed with much deeper cut than the others, especially on the drapery, not to mention the hair lines. Which kind of convinced me that it was made by Antonio. Yet the carving did yield a sense of roughness with the relatively bold, indelicate cut comparing to his peer masters. It makes me wonder if it’s a unique style adopted by the Verge workshops.


This Antinous, though signed Verge, has relatively shallower and more gentle cut than the previous. Yet if observing closely, the way hair lines and grape vines was cut do share similarities with the former. I’m guessing it might be some of Filippo Verge’s earlier works under Antonio.


The reason why I suspect my Ariadne was made by Filippo Verge is actually after seeing @Bronwen share of her Psyche. The incised mark looks identical, and the execution of the profile, the nose, the lips, and the similar shallow flowing cut resemble each other. Yet this Ariadne was cut with a strong sense of sculptural modeling by creating deep perspective with its deliberately shaped high relief, casting light and shape. It’s especially strong when put on. Therefore I guess the carver is well skilled yet deliberately kept the cutting that way.

My hypothesis is that Filippo Verge perhaps put a lot effort into commissions in his earlier life, and in later career, during the late Victorian period, he started to produce more affordable cameos for tourists as souvenirs to sustain and develop the workshop, and consequently adopted new carving tools as well, which could explain the shift in style of the signature.